


The Perfect Storm

by Greenlady



Series: Echo Valley [9]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 16:43:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3418046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greenlady/pseuds/Greenlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lex Luthor goes on a holiday without Clark.  This story will be updated when I feel like it, or when Hell freezes over, whichever comes first.  Probably the Hell freezing over option.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm  
** Lex’s private jet touched down at Gander International Airport. His pilot taxied over to the side as instructed by the control tower, and eventually the ramp was lowered. At the bottom of the ramp waited a somewhat elderly woman and a definitely elderly Newfoundland Dog.

‘Mrs. Walsh!’ Said Lex, taking her hand. ‘You shouldn’t have come out here in this weather, but it’s nice to see you.’

‘Nonsense,’ said Emma Walsh. ‘I’m a Newfoundlander. This is just a little chilly for me, unlike for ye soft Pacific Coast people. And it’s Emma, remember?’

‘I remember, Emma. And this is Mason, isn’t it?’

‘It surely is, Lex. He’s old and retired, like me, but he soldiers on. Come on, b’y. You’re having dinner with us, tonight. No hotels for you, remember?’

‘I remember,’ said Lex. ‘But my family has grown a bit since then. ‘

‘So I see,’ Emma commented.

Down the ramp came Mercy and Hope, followed by Charity carrying Lena. Behind them ambled Joy, and Connor, carrying one of her puppies. He set the puppy on the ground and she started to run to Lex, but then stopped in her tracks, eyeing Mason shyly for a moment. Mason woofed a welcome, upon which she bounded up to him, to sniff his feet and yip playfully. Mason bent his head to sniff her over, then he licked her nose and woofed again.

‘He loves puppies,’ said Emma. ‘This must be one of Joy’s.’

‘She is,’ said Lex. ‘One of her latest brood – and her last. I probably let her breed too long, but she loves puppies too, and she’s very healthy. But this is it. No more babies for you, girl.’

Joy looked up at him, with almost an expression of pleading in her eyes. But Lex hardened his heart. She was in very good shape for her age, but the truth was, big dogs didn’t live very long, and breeding was hard on bitches, shortening their life span considerably. Lex wanted Joy’s company for a few more years. 

‘She’s about 8 now, isn’t she? Mason is 12. It’s hard, when they get older, but then we all get older. Mason comes from a long-lived line, and he’s healthy too, so he’s going to be with me a little longer, and I have some of his puppies. But this young man must be Connor.’

‘Hello, Mrs. Walsh,’ said Connor, offering his hand. ‘I am Connor Luthor-Kent, at your service.’ And he gave her a quick bow. 

‘Oho!’ she replied. ‘Young Gentleman indeed.’

‘This is Mercy, Hope and Charity. And the baby is my sister, Lena. We’re going to be staying in Newfoundland for a while, but we won’t be any trouble. I promise. My Dad has already bought a house here, and I’m looking forward to exploring the province.’

‘Well, come on Young Gentleman,’ said Emma. ‘Mason and I will show you around a bit, before you get settled. Then you should eat, before you go exploring. How does that sound?’

‘That sounds good,’ said Connor, solemnly. 

Connor had become very serious, the last few weeks, but that was understandable, thought Lex. They were here, in a sense, like refugees from a disaster. Very rich refugees, to be sure. Connor was right that they’d already bought a new house. But emotionally, they were survivors of a great storm that had swept away much of their shelter, and left them freezing in the wind and the rain and the dark. Perhaps here they could find shelter from the storm.  
*****

‘It’s a bit out of the way,’ Lex commented.

‘Aye, a bit,’ Emma agreed. The prospect didn’t seem to worry her.

Mercy on the other hand…. ‘It’s more than a bit out of the way, if you ask me,’ she said. The house was on a cliff, overlooking the sea.

‘Well I didn’t ask you,’ Lex replied.

‘Of course not, Boss. I’m only your Chief of Security. What do I know?’

‘We’re installing the most up-to-date security system there is, Mercy. I’ll have you, Hope and Charity, and any one of you is better than the best security system there is. We’re clearing part of the cliff top to use as a runway for small planes and helicopters. What more can I do?’

‘The house is set on top of a cliff,’ Emma pointed out. ‘You can see people coming for miles.’

‘People, yes,’ said Mercy.

‘That can’t be helped,’ said Lex. ‘No matter where we go.’

‘True,’ said Mercy. ‘But I don’t have to be happy about it.’

Emma glanced over at Lex, with an intense expression of curiosity, which he had no intention of satisfying. Of all the world, only he himself, Connor, and Mercy knew the whole truth about Clark. Everyone else concerned had merely been told that Clark had had an encounter with Red Kryptonite, but that all was now well. Lex had never told Connor the details of the rape, of course. Mercy he’d told, because of the nightmares. He’d been waking up every night for weeks after, crying and shouting.

‘And he did this once before?’ she’d asked in horror. 

‘That was years ago,’ said Lex. And besides, he thought, that was in another country. 

‘And now he’s done it again.’

‘It’s not really Clark.’

‘It’s his Dark Side. I know. But this is twice. Twice he’s attacked you.’

And only me, thought Lex. ‘We all have our Dark Sides,’ he pointed out.

‘Yes, but why should you have to tolerate his Dark Side, when it’s aimed at you? You believe in living dangerously, don’t you?’

‘He’s Connor’s father. And Lena’s.’ And besides, I love him, he thought.

‘Love,’ said Mercy. ‘That’s an emotion I can live without.’

 

*****

Lex turned a bend in the road, and there it was. ‘Wow,’ he said. ‘It looks just like the pictures. Truth in advertising.’

‘Pirates Cove!’ said Emma. ‘You bought Pirates Cove?’

‘Yeah,’ said Lex. ‘Including that.’ He pointed to the object in question – a tall, cylindrical edifice, painted white, except for a red stripe about half the way up.

‘The lighthouse, too,’ breathed Emma. ‘I’m going to come visit you a lot.’

‘That’s the idea,’ said Lex. ‘I have finally elicited an expression of awe from you.’

‘Awe and wonder,’ said Emma. ‘How much did all this cost?’

‘Irrelevant,’ said Lex. ‘They were going to dismantle the lighthouse, despite all the protests. I’m going to preserve it, and make sure it has a permanent caretaker.’ 

He drove down the causeway to the small island. The house was a collection of rambling buildings, connected by covered walkways. The lighthouse was far out on the point. Off to the left was a flat span of land, currently being cleared for use as a runway. 

‘Interesting,’ Mercy commented. ‘Some of the buildings look a bit shabby and run down.’

‘Again, irrelevant,’ Lex responded, with a shrug. ‘Look at the view.’

‘Yes,’ said Mercy. There was a tone in her voice that suggested she was repressing a shudder. ‘Water, water everywhere. When you’ve seen one ocean, haven’t you seen them all?’

‘Interesting philosophical viewpoint. My own opinion is that the ocean is always in flux, always changing, so it matters not that it’s just another ocean. One cannot step into the same stream twice, and one cannot see all the oceans.’

Mercy was silent for a while as Lex drove over the causeway and pulled up in front of the main building in the complex. 

‘This ocean faces in the opposite direction to the ocean we just left,’ she said at last. 

‘It faces East,’ said Lex. ‘It faces toward the Rising Sun. And even in the night, there is a light.’

*****

Lex parked the car in the courtyard, and they all got out. Each of the three had a different perspective, he thought. 

Mercy peered around suspiciously, clearly looking for anything that might create difficulties with security. Lex left her to it. She might not approve of their new residence, but she had accepted that Lex had no intention of changing his mind, and was now bent on making the best of the situation. 

Lex turned to Emma. ‘I want the place to be safe and comfortable for the children and the dogs,’ he said. 

Emma nodded. ‘The cliff and all those rocks might be a bit of a concern for some people,’ she pointed out. 

‘Connor is old enough and sensible enough to take care of himself,’ said Lex. ‘So is Joy.’

‘And she’s a Newfoundland Dog. This is her native land.’

‘Yes. Lena is a baby, still. She won’t be running around for a couple of years, yet.’ At least, I hope she won’t, Lex thought. ‘The puppy needs to learn how to handle dangerous environments, and Joy can teach her that. So, let’s check out the buildings. I’ve hired the contractor you recommended, but the crew is only working on the exteriors, for now. All the buildings need new roofs.’

‘Oh, see, they’ve fixed the roof on the main building,’ Emma pointed out.

‘That’s good,’ said Lex. He opened the door to the building in question, and they stepped inside.

‘It be a bit small,’ Emma commented. ‘And it surely needs some work beyond fixing the roof. But I don’t see any problems with the structure. The walls are sound enough. ‘

‘Yes,’ said Lex. ‘So, let’s get to work. If we clean up this building today, I can have the furniture moved in tomorrow, and we can be living here by the weekend.’

‘Are you really going to do your own housework?’ asked Emma, still clearly astonished that Lex would even consider such a thing. 

‘I’m not helpless,’ said Lex.

‘Of course not!’

‘And I feel like clearing out trash and scrubbing things clean.’

‘So do I,’ said Emma. ‘So, let’s get to work.’

‘I’ll get the buckets and mops from the car. Pick a room, and we’ll start there. Okay?’

‘Aye, Cap’n.’ said Emma, with a grin. 

*****

‘A Dear John video,’ muttered Clark to himself. ‘That’s all he wrote.’ 

But that was grossly unfair, he replied. Lex hadn’t said goodbye and he was gone for all time. Lex had totally valid reasons for taking a temporary break from their relationship. 

And then, just like that, the Other was staring back at him, sneering, ‘Is that what you believe? Idiot! All that crap…’ and here the Other waved his hand at the video screen. ‘All that’s just an excuse. He’s never accepted me, and he never will.’

‘Mother always loved you best,’ said Clark, in a sing-song voice.

‘Huh?’ said the Other. 

‘Never mind. A reference that was bound to go right over your head. Of course Lex doesn’t accept you. You raped him.’

‘He deserved it.’

‘And that attitude is why we’re getting nowhere. It’s why Lex took a holiday. It’s why he can’t help us any longer, and we have to work this out ourselves…. Precious.’

‘Huh?’

Oh, God, thought Clark. Soon I’ll be running around in a loin cloth, and eating raw fish. 

It was the whole split personality, Smeagol/Gollum thing that had forced Lex to admit he couldn’t take any more. At first, Lex had been fascinated when Clark had admitted that his Other was now appearing before his mind’s eye, to argue with him. 

‘That’s good,’ Lex had said. ‘That must mean you’re making progress. You can argue back, now. That’s better than when he took you over and controlled you.’

And so, encouraged by this, Clark had begun to question his Dark Side about his motives. And that had been a mistake.

‘He’s jealous,’ he told Lex. ‘Jealous of the fact that you love me, and don’t accept him.’

‘Tell him you’re the same person,’ Lex said, with exaggerated patience.

‘I’ve told him that, over and over, but he can’t accept it.’

‘He wants to be in control. I can’t accept that.’

‘I know, but he feels that you never accepted the bond between us, you and me, and that’s why we split off into two personas.’

Lex had been silent for a long moment, staring at Clark. ‘What?’ he asked, finally. ‘He blames me for this? You blame me for this? I’m to blame?’

And that had started an argument that had ended very badly. Very badly indeed. Now, as he stared at Lex’s image in the video he had left as a goodbye-for-now-note, Clark knew the argument and the separation had been inevitable. It was unfair to expect a victim to provide therapy to his or her attacker. Lex was very strong, and he had tried his best, but even he had his limits. Those limits had become obvious when Clark reached out to him, trying to comfort him, trying to show that he loved him, beyond all things.

Later, after Lex had locked himself in his rooms, with his kryptonite gun at hand, Connor had come to talk to Clark. He found him in one of the gardens – Lex’s favourite. 

‘Daddy?’

Clark looked up, showing Connor his tear-streaked face. What was the point of pretending to be all-strong and all-powerful any longer?

‘I’m sorry, Connor. Your Dad and I have had an argument again. But I haven’t hurt him. I didn’t do anything bad to him. I swear.’

‘I know, Daddy.’

‘I love him, very much.’

‘I know, Daddy. Dad loves you, too. He cries, too. But don’t tell him I told you that.’

‘It’s our secret,’ said Clark. And he tried to smile.

‘Daddy, Dad wants to get back together, but it has to be….’Connor paused for a moment, thinking of the right words to express such adult concepts. ‘It has to be on his terms,’ he said at last.

‘I know,’ Clark had agreed. And so he had taken a day off, gone up to the Fortress and consulted Lara about his problems, instead. Lara and Lex were his sole options as therapists, he thought. Who else was there?

And then he’d come home the next day, to find Lex gone. The bastard had left this video, explaining that he wasn’t gone for good, only taking a holiday, but that Clark was not to attempt to contact him, under any circumstances, or the separation would be permanent.

‘And you don’t want to try to negotiate those terms,’ Lex told him, his eyes, even on the video, as cold as ice. ‘Accept them, for now. And later, we’ll discuss better terms. But not now. Goodbye, Clark. Lex Luthor out.’  
*****  
Emma looked around, seeming to approve, for the most part. ‘It’s heartlessly plain and simple,’ she said. ‘But it’s neat and clean. And you have the new back-up generator. It’ll do.’

‘Thanks for all your help,’ said Lex.

‘Don’t mention it, b’y. It was my pleasure. Don’t forget, now. You need to get in a good store of provisions before the real winter weather hits. You’re used to being able to just run to the store if you run out of something, but out here? If we get a bad storm, it could be a week before you make it back to civilization.’

Lex had never run to the store to buy anything in his life, nor had he ever run out of provisions. Both concepts amused him, so he smiled. ‘I won’t forget,’ he said. ‘The new freezer is supposed to arrive tomorrow. We’ve got enough food to last until I can fill it. Don’t worry about us.’

‘I can’t help worrying about you, Sweetheart. You’ve become like a son to me, and you look so sad. Sure you don’t want to talk about what’s breaking your heart?’

‘I can’t talk about it, Emma. But I’ll work it out. I’ll be fine. I’m always fine, in the end.’

‘Okay. Farewell for now. I better get going if I want to make it home by dark.’

‘Sure you don’t want Hope to drive back with you? She wouldn’t mind.’

‘I’ll be fine, too,’ said Emma. ‘Don’t you worry about me, just take care of yourself, and I’ll call when I get home.’ And she reached up, patted his face, and gave him a peck on the cheek. 

It made him think of his Grandmother -- whom he’d never known, because his father had killed her before he was born. She would have loved him, he thought. She would have kissed him like that, patted his cheek and baked him cookies. He’d often wondered how it would have been if she’d lived, and now he had an idea, and could file that knowledge away in his heart.

He spent the next few hours setting up his office. It was a bit depressing having only dial-up access for his computer, but he could manage for now, and he wasn’t planning to live here forever. There were downsides to everything, and this was one of the downsides to living in a remote area. Maybe he could put some pressure on the providers of broadband to put in lines out here. In the meantime, the lack of broadband gave him something else to think about. It was a practical, day-to-day problem to take his mind off his real problems.

Everything he was doing right now was only a way to deal with his inner trauma, and he knew that. He knew he was running away from the real issue. He knew he was burying himself in work and moving and packing and unpacking, just so he’d be tired enough at night to get a few hours sleep so he could get up and start all over again the next day. But what else could he do? All other available routes for dealing with such… events… were out of the question for him. Even a private therapist was out of the question. He couldn’t trust anyone to keep this… event… quiet. Once it became public knowledge that Superman was capable of…rape….

That feeling of panic swept over him again. This building was too quiet, he thought. There were too few people around. He had moved here because he craved quiet, and wanted fewer people around, but now he was here….  
…but Charity would be here soon, with the children and the dogs. He should go and check once more to make sure everything was safe for them….

Just before dark, Emma called to let him know she was home safely, and not long after that, Charity arrived with the children. Connor was excited to finally see their new home, and couldn’t wait to explore the lighthouse, but Lex insisted he wait until morning. 

‘I promise, Connor. We’ll explore it from top to bottom. It needs a good cleaning, and you can help me with that. In the meantime, go check out your new room. It’s small, but….’

Connor had already run off to look, and seemed happy with the arrangements. He didn’t seem to care about the lack of luxury, or worry about how they’d get by without servants. He had his toys and his books and his baby sister and the dogs, and he was happy. 

Well, as happy as he could be without Clark around.

Lena was happy, of course. She was mostly a very happy baby, rarely crying. At first they’d been a bit concerned about that, because crying was normal for babies. Then one night she’d cried and cried and nothing could comfort her. That made them feel a bit better. They’d been up all night with her, trying everything to comfort her, and finally at dawn she’d fallen asleep, and they had fallen exhausted together into their own bed. He and Clark….

They heated up the lasagne Emma had made for them last night, and Charity curled up in the rocking chair by the fireplace to feed Lena. Joy and the puppy sat at her feet. Connor went to his room to unpack more books into his new bookcase. Mercy and Hope went off to do more work on the security system. Security systems always needed work, they told him. 

And so everyone else had an occupation right now. Now his family was safely home. Now he felt a great wellspring of grief rising up, as he had known it would once this task was complete. 

‘I’m just going out for a breath of fresh air,’ he told Charity. 

Connor appeared instantly, looking worried. He’d taken to doing this whenever Lex wanted to be alone, these days. It was ghoulish, Lex thought, like a suicide watch. He had absolutely no intention of committing suicide. His current situation was full of pain and grief, but it was not without solution, if only he could find it, and in the meantime, he had his beautiful children. He must find a solution for them, if not for himself. 

‘I’m just going out for some fresh air,’ he repeated, with exaggerated patience. ‘I’m all grown up now.’

Connor looked dubious. ‘It’s dark out,’ he said.

‘Yes,’ Lex replied. ‘That’s what happens at night time. But there’s a full moon, almost. And I’ll take a flashlight. Go read a book. You’ll be starting school on Monday. I don’t want you to forget how to read.’ 

Having thus put Connor in his place, Lex picked up a flashlight, and checked his BlackBerry to make sure the battery was full. No parent could ever be totally independent, and it was late at night, in an area he was not yet familiar with. But he needed to get away, just for a few moments. Always, lately, there was this feeling of panic, just off to the side of his awareness, as if at any moment….

The moon was not quite full. That would be in two nights, Lex thought. It was, however, very large and bright tonight, and the stars were out as well. He had to be careful, but he’d made a study of this neighbourhood, and just ahead… Yes! There was a small cove a few hundred yards ahead. He could hear the crashing waves.…

He sat on a rock, and let the solitude take him. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt completely alone. There had always been someone – his father, Tess, Clark, Mercy, Hope, Cassandra – someone. Someone who would notice if he didn’t maintain. Now there was Connor. He loved Connor, but there it was. Connor was one more person checking up on him.

The waves kept rolling in, crashing against the shore in their endless dance, in their endless attempt to break down the rock and reduce it to sand. Eventually, the waves would win, and this cove would be a sandy beach, or be washed right out to the ocean altogether. But in the meantime, the rocks were eternal. Lex counted the waves, and when he reached a hundred great wave broke inside him and he fell to his knees. He put back his head and roared with grief and pain. He pounded the rocks beneath his hands until they bled. And still the waves crashed against the cove. And still the rocks stood defiant.

At last he let his head fall forward, down to his knees, and he sobbed. 

He lost all track of time, kneeling there in the cold and dark. An icy drizzle began to fall, and the drops merged with his tears. The logical, rational part of his brain told him to stop his bout of self-pity and get the hell back home, but another part of him had begun to enjoy being in the depths of despair. Here, in the cold and dark, he thought, here was his real home. That other place had never been for him. Lex Luthor was never meant for happiness, and….

‘Dad! Dad? Wake up!’

Lex opened his eyes, raised his head, came back to himself a little.

‘Dad! Daddy. Mama!’

The last term grabbed all his attention, as always. ‘Connor? What are you….’

‘There’s no time, Mama. Come on, get up, you’re going to drown.’

‘Drown?’ Lex was fully awake now. He looked up, at a wall of water coming right for him. In an instant he was on his feet and running, but the oncoming waves caught at his feet, trying to drag him back to the realm of despair and defeat. 

Then Connor was lifting him, flying him up, up to the cliff overlooking the little cove. ‘Sorry, Mama,’ he gasped. ‘I know you hate to be carried like that.’

‘Don’t mention it,’ said Lex. He tugged Connor closer. ‘I’m the one who should be sorry. I never meant to stay out so long. And I forgot all about the tide coming in. Were you keeping an eye on me?’

‘No,’ said Connor. ‘It was… it was Lena.’

‘Lena?’

‘She knows when you’re in danger, and she starts to cry. It’s happened several times. That’s why….’

‘That’s why you came to the house that day? Connor? That was because of Lena?’

‘Yes. I didn’t tell you then because you were angry at me showing up, and I didn’t want to blame it on her. But that was why.’

Lex was silent for a long time, standing there on the cliff, holding his son close. ‘Good boy,’ he said at last. ‘Let’s go home.’

*****

Far out to sea, Superman hovered above the ferocious winter waves, hidden in the darkness. Hidden at least from Lex’s normal human sight, though Connor had seen him, and shaken his head in warning. And so he, Superman, had been forced to watch while Connor, a child, rescued Lex from possible drowning, comforted him, and convinced him to go home. 

‘This is your fault,’ Clark muttered to himself.

‘My fault? How is this my f…..’ 

Clark turned and punched his Shadow in the face, sending him flying back hundreds of nautical miles toward the coast of Europe. He raced after him and dragged him down into the water until they hit the ocean floor. Numerous strange bottom feeding creatures scattered at their arrival. A deep-sea-diving whale jumped back in alarm and headed for the surface as fast as possible.

‘This is where you belong,’ Clark screamed. ‘Buried in obscurity until the end of time.’ 

Several pale denizens of the deeps peeped out from behind rocks to see what was causing this unprecedented commotion. Other Clark waved and smiled.

‘We’re not buried in all that much obscurity,’ he said. ‘In fact, we have an audience. Perhaps we should leave before we give some poor little fishy a heart attack, or cause an earthquake which would lead to a tsunami. Or something.’

‘Ah. So you’re beginning to care about the effects of our actions? ‘

‘Sure,’ said Other Clark.

‘Sure you are,’ Clark agreed. ‘I wish I could drown you, or blow you up, or bury you under a mountain of Kryptonite….’

‘I feel the same about you, brother.’

‘But I can’t, so I’m stuck with you. I’m the one in charge, though. Never forget it.’

‘Believe me, I never forget it. Hate it? You can be sure of that. Forget it? Never.’

Other Clark was sounding more and more like Lex, Clark thought. Was that a good thing, or not? Clark headed for the surface, his Shadow following. He found a tiny island and set down to soak up the starlight and think. 

‘We have to fix this situation,’ he said at last.

‘Ah. Tired of waiting around for Lex to get over his snit, are we?’

‘Yes,’ said Clark. ‘I am. You were the one who created this situation. You are going to fix it, with my supervision. ‘

‘Sounds like fun,’ Other Clark sneered.

‘Hold that thought,’ said Clark.

*****

Lena’s face was tear stained, but she’d stopped crying by the time Lex got back to the house. As soon as she saw his face, she smiled and held out her tiny arms to him. Lex took her from Charity and settled into the rocking chair himself, with her in his arms. Connor smiled and settled at his feet with a book. Lex rocked and rocked, and stared into the blazing fire. He knew that Hope and Mercy, and especially Charity, were not happy with him, but he’d grown used to that this last few weeks. His little outing had been a potential disaster, but all was well now, and at least he felt drained and tired. 

Now he needed to be calm and to think. Clearly there was a lot of pain and rage buried deep inside him, that didn’t entirely originate from Other Clark’s attacks. First of all, at the beginning of all things, there had been Lionel’s abuses and betrayals. He had tried to reconcile with his father, and then tried to forget his father’s very existence, all to no avail. Lionel Luthor lived and breathed, and the abuses and betrayals had happened, and the pain still hurt. But he had trusted Clark, believed that Clark would never hurt him. The first attack had been something separate from his normal reality. He had known his own Clark would never treat him like that. Now he wasn’t so sure. 

That was the core of his pain, he realized. He had held himself back from Clark to a certain extent, because he feared repeating the painful tug of war with his father. Now, just when he had surrendered as much as he could ever surrender to anyone, and decided to trust him utterly, letting Jor-El change his very gender so that he could give birth to Lena – now Other Clark had made a reappearance and put him back in his place. 

Had he been wrong to trust Clark so much? But if he hadn’t, Lena would not be alive, and that thought twisted the knife in his heart until he gasped with the pain. 

Lena stirred in his arms, and opened her eyes, and looked up at him with utter love and trust. She was his daughter, flesh of his flesh – but she was Clark’s daughter, too, and Clark was not evil. Lex knew Clark. His heart was in the right place – usually.

Lena sighed, and closed her eyes, and went back to sleep. Lex gave in for now, and determined to think happy thoughts for the rest of the night, for her sake. 

*****

Clark came crashing through the window. He grabbed Lex and ripped his clothes off. He threw Lex across the bed and started raping him. Lex didn’t fight back, or even struggle. What was the point? This was Superman. His vastly superior strength gave him the right to use Lex as he pleased.

Afterwards, Clark said, ‘You deserved that, Lex. You’ve been treating me like crap for years.’

‘You’re right, Clark. I’m sorry.’

‘That’s the great thing about same-sex relationships,’ said Clark. We understand each other, and men don’t get all upset about a little violence.’

‘Yes. Men like to be raped. Rape is fun!’

They cuddled in bed, made love tenderly, and fell asleep locked in each other’s arms. 

*****

Lex sat straight up in bed, and stared into the darkness. ‘What was that shit?’ he asked himself, out loud. What puny, drivelling part of his psyche created that vile scenario? He had heard of rape victims forgiving their attackers, but this? What rape victim would cuddle in bed with his or her attacker right after the rape?

‘It was a dream. Just a dream. A nightmare, more like it. Go back to sleep.’

He lay back down, fighting the urge to put the pillow over his head, because Luthors didn’t do that sort of thing. Luthors faced the darkness, head on. They didn’t hide from it like frightened children. If stared into long enough, darkness could become a trusted friend.

*****  
‘That’s the great thing about same-sex relationships,’ said Clark. We understand each other, and men don’t get all upset about a little violence.’

‘Yes. Men like to be raped. Rape is fun!’

They cuddled in bed, made love tenderly, and fell asleep locked in each other’s arms. 

Clark woke up some time later, feeling relaxed and happy. He and Lex were on the same page now, and all was well. He reached across the bed for his sweet, compliant lover, but Lex wasn’t there. Lex wasn’t in the bathroom, or the living room, or anywhere in the house. Now Clark started to get angry again. How dare Lex run off, just when everything was going well?

Clark started to use his x-ray vision and super hearing, but could find no sign of Lex. He went out on one of the balconies, and then chanced to glance down, into the water.

‘Lex! Lex? Oh, my God! Lex….’

Clark dived down, and pulled Lex out of the water. He breathed into his mouth, and pumped his chest over and over, but it was no use. ‘Why?’ he screamed. ‘Why?’

*****

‘Whyyyyy?’ Clark sat straight up in bed, staring with horror into the darkness. He sent his long distance vision and hearing far, far outward, toward that lighthouse in Newfoundland. Then he sighed in relief. Lex was in bed, curled up safe and sound. Warm and safe. Warm and safe and alone.

‘He shouldn’t be alone,’ Other Clark noted.

‘That’s your fault,’ Clark replied. ‘Not mine.’

‘What difference does it make whose fault it is?’ asked Other Clark with extreme exasperation. ‘He’s still alone.’

‘He’s not alone. He has Connor, and Lena, and Mercy, and….’

‘Yes, yes, yes.’

‘And Hope and Charity and he doesn’t need us.’

‘Bullshit!’

‘He doesn’t need us and he doesn’t want us. When he changes his mind, and invites us back, we’ll crawl. Do you understand? Crawl.’

‘Sure we will.’

‘Shut up and go back to sleep, or I’ll bury you under a ton of Kryptonite.’

‘How are you going to achieve that feat?’

‘I’ll find a way,’ said Clark.

Other Clark seemed to go back to sleep eventually, but Clark lay awake for a long time, monitoring Lex’s breathing and heartbeat, and shuddering with the memory of that terrible dream of his cold and unresponsive body.

*****  
‘The problem isn’t me,’ said Clark. ‘The problem is you. To put it another way, you are the problem.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Shut up. I didn’t give you permission to speak, and you’re certainly not excused. Sit down, and listen.’ 

Clark pointed to the chair across from the desk. They were in Lex’s office, at the castle. Lex’s office at the castle was designed to intimidate, as were all his offices. The paths to that intimidation were interesting, however. Lex’s office reeked of wealth and intellect and superiority. It was beautiful and distant and expensive, and made many visitors feel as if they were in some kind of church. Lex ruled his world not through brute force and violence, but through utter belief in his own right to rule.

Clark sat at Lex’s desk, and let the atmosphere of the room soak into his bones. He ached for Lex’s touch, which had always been a balm to his soul. The barrier to the renewal of that touch sat across from him, looking nervous. Good beginning.

Clark leaned his elbows on Lex’s desk, and steepled his fingers. ‘You’re just a child, aren’t you?’ he asked.

Other Clark looked disgusted. ‘I’m the same age you are, idiot.’

‘Not really. You’re the same age as Connor, more or less. Jor-El created you – granted from my own DNA and parts of my own psyche – when Lex was pregnant with Connor.’

‘So… Connor is my son, not yours!’ Other Clark looked proud.

‘Connor is my son. Jor-El used my sperm, and then created you to keep Lex in line. And that’s why you think you have the right to abuse him, isn’t it?’ Clark paused for effect, as Lex would have done. ‘But you’re still only a child, and not only a child, but an uneducated one. That’s the problem, here. You need to go to school.’

‘What!’ 

Other Clark rose up in a rage, looking around, clearly bent on some sort of violent and destructive protest. But Clark was ready, and he had Other Clark in a head grip before he could move another muscle. 

‘Listen to me,’ Clark grated out. ‘You will never hurt Lex in any way, ever again. You won’t touch anything that belongs to him without his permission. If you do, I will kill you. Yes, everyone tells me that’s not possible, but I don’t care. And you shouldn’t trust everyone. Everyone doesn‘t know everything. Trust me. I will kill you, if it kills me. I will bury you under a ton of Kryptonite until the end of time, if I suffer excruciating pain until the end of time. Believe that.’

‘Okay,’ Other Clark gasped.

Clark let him go, warily. ‘Sit!’ he said. Other Clark sat back down. ‘Look around you. This is Lex’s office. This is like a church, to you. A church to your God.’

‘What?’ said Other Clark, but in a much more subdued way than before. ‘You think Lex is a god?’ He snickered a little, but watched Clark with as much wariness as Clark watched him.

‘No. Lex is my lover. But he’s going to be your God. I am going to teach you all about your new religion. Listen and learn.’

Maybe it wasn’t possible, thought Clark, as he began to tell Lex’s life story, carefully editing out certain events, and expanding on others. All the psychology texts seemed to stress that a person couldn’t educate and control their Inner Child. And the Shadow must be given its due. But the Hell with that. Clark was going to get his real life back, if he had to search out and destroy his Shadow, and if he had to send his Inner Child to reform school forever.

Time to begin Lesson One. ‘Lex, your God, was born in….’

*****

Lex unlocked the door to the Lighthouse. Connor bounded in, and looked around hungrily. ‘Cool,’ he announced.

Lex had to admit that it was cool to own their own lighthouse, though he shuddered at the mess it was in. The mess was all cosmetic, however. A good cleaning, a few minor repairs, and several coats of paint, and his lighthouse would be spectacular again. 

‘Let’s climb to the top!’ Connor urged.

‘Okay. But don’t forget you promised to help work on the place. It needs sweeping out, for a start.’

‘I know. I promised. And Superboy always keeps his promises.’

‘Well, Superboy,’ said Lex. ‘Where do you think we should start?’

Superboy looked around, and considered. ‘I think we should start at the top,’ he replied. 

Lex grinned at him. ‘You really want to go to the top, don’t you?’

‘Yes, but it makes sense to sweep from the top down.’

Lex laughed, more lightly than he had in some weeks. ‘You’re right. And remember that, when you end up running your own organization – whatever that organization might be. If there’s a problem, and you need to clean house, start at the top, not the bottom.’

Connor gave him a look, as if to say Lex were making obvious statements, but he went on. ‘Many people don’t do this. Many managers blame the ordinary workers for all the problems in an organization. They might say, for example, that the workers are lazy. I say management must inspire the workers. That’s what management is for, not to collect big wages and blame the workers for every problem.’

By now they had reached the top floor, and were enjoying the spectacular view of the ocean. They were facing East, and the sun had risen above the horizon only a few moments before, so the sky was blood red smeared upon cold gray blue. 

******

They swept and cleaned and cleaned and swept. Dust, dead leaves, remains of spider webs, mouse droppings. The detritus of years. Lex told Connor about the summer he’d worked on a farm, mucking out stables and baling hay. Feeding chickens and pigs and cows…

‘Do cows need to be fed, Daddy?’

‘Well….’

‘I’d like to work on a farm this summer.’

‘You can work on the vineyard,’ Lex pointed out. ‘You always do.’

‘I know, Daddy,’ said Connor. ‘But I want to do something different. To…to prove myself.’

To get away from your parents and all the tension, Lex wondered, but didn’t say so. None of this was Connor’s fault, and he was not about to lay a guilt trip on him. He’d had years of that from his own father. 

‘We’ll see,’ he told Connor, in that parental way that meant yes. Connor smiled.

By now they had cleansed the entire top floor, and were sweeping down the stairs heading for the next level. Or, rather Connor was sweeping and Lex was coming up behind him carrying the bags of heavy trash. Connor turned a corner in the spiral and disappeared from view. Lex turned the corner and Connor was still not within sight.

‘Connor?’ Lex called. 

No answer. A few more steps down. ‘Connor, where did you get to? Don’t play games with me,’ said Lex in his firmest parental tones. ‘We’re working here as a team, not fooling around.’ Several more steps down, and there was someone in the stairwell. Not Connor.

‘Mannick!’ Lex exclaimed.

‘I hear that you remember me.’

‘Of course I remember you.’

‘That is good, because it looks like you have forgotten much else.’

‘Forgotten? What have I forgotten?’ asked Lex.

‘You have forgotten what you are supposed to be doing,’ said the Shaman. ‘And that is dangerous.’

Lex leaned against the old stone wall of the lighthouse. A wave of memory washed over him, drowning him in pain and fear and other emotions too mysterious to name. ‘What I’m doing,’ he whispered. ‘What am I doing?’ Mannick was silent. ‘Is this my Trial?’

‘At last you remember,’ said Mannick coldly. ‘It is your Trial, and you are failing, and that is no small thing. I warned you not to lose your way, or you will lose your mind and your heart and it is possible to lose your soul. Do you want to be a heartless, soul-less thing with no knowledge of who or what he is?’

‘Of course not!’ said Lex.

‘Of course not,’ Mannick repeated. ‘So, how do you say it – pull yourself together.’

‘Where is Connor?’

‘Connor is safe and well and not far away. Do not worry about him, worry about yourself. You care too much of other people at times, and that can lead you into error as much as caring not enough.’

‘I know,’ said Lex. ‘But how do I stop?’

‘That is your Trial,’ Mannick told him, with exaggerated patience. ‘You are being torn apart so that you can put yourself back together again, and be a powerful Shaman. As was I.’

‘You were torn to pieces physically.’

‘Yes,’ said Mannick. ‘Those were simpler times, and I a simpler man, with no wife, no child. I loved people, but I loved no one more than myself. Having your body torn holds no fear for you, but this does.’

‘This,’ Lex whispered. Mannick didn’t answer. ‘Losing my love, my family, my home…that holds great terror for me.’ And so I must face it down, and stop running away.

‘A Shaman must face down every danger, every fear and pain,’ Mannick reminded him. What happened to you was agony, and came from great evil, yet you must not run away, but grasp it with both hands and fight it. When you prove you are stronger than the evil you fear, you will be a Shaman, and one of great power. ‘

Mannick shrank in upon himself, and stood before Lex in the form of a giant wolf. The Amarok. 

Lex followed him down the stairs. Connor was waiting at the bottom. 

‘We’re finished here for now, son,’ said Lex. 

‘Aw, Daddy.’ 

‘Don’t aw Daddy me. Quit complaining about me not working you hard enough, and run away and have fun.’

Connor looked up into his face, with his too-seeing eyes. Then he looked around and noticed the Amorak for the first time. ‘What’s going on?’ he whispered.

‘Nothing bad,’ said Lex. ‘I’m going to see your father. We’re going to talk.’

‘Maybe go home?’

‘Maybe,’ said Lex.

‘I like it here,’ said Connor. ‘But home is better.’

‘Yes,’ said Lex. ‘Home is always better.’

Lex checked on Lena, then sat down at his desk. He stared at the phone for a long time before he picked it up and called Clark. Clark answered on the second ring.

‘Hello,’ he said, breathlessly. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine, Clark. Well, as fine as I can be under the circumstances.’

‘Yes. Of course,’ said Clark.

‘Clark… about the circumstances. We need to talk.’

There was a long moment of silence, during which Lex could hear Clark biting his tongue to keep from telling Lex that he knew that already. ‘Okay,’ said Clark, at last. ‘When?’

‘Today.’

‘I’ll be there in….’

‘No!’ said Lex, sharply. ‘Not here. That’s too…’ Too intimate, thought Lex. ‘St. John’s. Water Street. Nautical Nellie’s. I’ll meet you there at noon – no, at 1 pm, for lunch. Then we’ll go somewhere more private to talk.’

Another long moment of silence. Then, ‘Okay. 1 pm. Nautical Nellie’s. I’ll see you there.’

‘You’re driving from here to St. John’s this morning?’ asked Mercy, from the doorway. 

‘It’s just down the coast.’

‘Several hundred miles down the coast.’

‘Yes. I can drive that far,’ said Lex. ‘I’m a big boy now.’

‘I’m going with you,’ Mercy announced.

‘No. I’m going alone,’ Lex countered.

‘Boss! I’m your bodyguard.’

‘And this is one of those times when I must do something alone,’ said Lex. ‘Sometimes people must do dangerous things alone.’

‘You think this is dangerous?’ asked Mercy.

‘I know it is,’ said Lex. ‘But I must do it alone. You stay here and take care of the children. I’ll be back. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow morning. Wait for me, and don’t interfere.’

Lex climbed into his car, turning even Joy back from her place at his side. ‘Not even you, Girl,’ he whispered. Stay here with the Amorak. He knows what’s going on.’

And then he stormed out of the driveway with a squeal of tires, and started for St. John’s at 80 miles per hour. He didn’t notice that a few miles down the coast he picked up a tail.

*******

Clark sat in his booth at Nautical Nellie’s. Lex should have been there by now. A half hour earlier, to be precise, as Lex himself would say. This wasn’t good, and Clark wanted to call him up to ask what was wrong, but perhaps this was a test. Lex liked tests. If he, Clark, sat here patiently, that would prove he respected Lex’s independence and right to his own body – or something. On the other hand, if he waited too long, might that not mean he didn’t care about Lex’s welfare? Even after all these years, Lex’s thought processes mystified him at times.

Clark glanced at his watch surreptitiously. One hour late. No, this was not good at all, especially since the last weather report had foretold a heavy dose of fog moving in from the Atlantic. But what should he do? Call Lex, begin the conversation with, ‘Sorry Mr. Luthor, sir, but I’m just a bit concerned about your egregious lateness.’ That might amuse him. It might, on the other hand….

Oh, dammit. I just need to know he’s okay. If he takes it out on me after, well, I’ll be no worse off than I have been these past weeks. But he wasn’t going to have such a conversation here in the restaurant, just in case. Better outside. A park bench. Or a dark alley. The alley behind the restaurant, with the other rats.

Clark paid for the coffee he’d consumed, and made his way outside, then zipped around to the alley. He called Lex’s cellphone. Unavailable. Unavailable? Now Clark was really concerned. Lex had one hell of a powerful cellphone. He’d had his own employees working on boosting the signal and the battery for years now, insisting that he wanted to be able to call Mars when they started colonizing it in a few years. He could call Mercy to see if Lex had actually left home or had just been scamming Clark – but that wasn’t like Lex, and besides, Mercy was ferociously loyal and these days only spoke to Clark when absolutely necessary. No. He should settle back down to wait, or go looking for Lex in person, even if….

And who was that lurking just outside the alley? His X-ray vision revealed a slender, dark-haired woman. Clark remembered seeing her in the booth next to his at the restaurant. Why had she followed him out here? If she’d been a man, she might have been planning on mugging him, or even, perhaps, having a quickie here in the alley. But few women ventured into dark alleys looking for either kind of action. Unless she had an accomplice? Clark glanced around, but his vision revealed no likely suspects. He could just ignore her, but considering that Lex seemed to have gone missing….

Clark zipped to faster-than-a-speeding-bullet mode, grabbed her, and headed to his hotel room.

*******

 

‘Put. Me. Down.’ She gasped out.

‘You already are down.’ Clark pointed out.

‘Where?’

‘My hotel room.’

‘Why?’

‘I’ve answered one of your questions. Now it’s your turn. Who the hell are you?’

‘I’m gonna scream.’

‘Unusual name.’ Clark shrugged. ‘Was your mother a screamer?’

It took a moment, but his guest got it. She opened her mouth to actually scream, but Clark was faster and clapped his hand over it. ‘Don’t,’ he said. ‘I have no interest in your body, only who you are, and why you were attempting to spy on me. Explain yourself, and you walk out of here free as a bird with your virtue intact. Got that?’

She nodded. He took his hand off her mouth, but kept a careful eye on it. 

‘You kidnapped me,’ she accused.

‘Yes, well, worse things can happen to you if you follow men into dark alleys. Who are you, and why did you follow me? That’s all I care about. Tell me now, then get out.’

‘Lois Lane. I was….’

‘What! Lane? Lois Lane? Any relation to Lucy Lane?’

‘Yes, yes. She’s my sister. That’s why I was following you. I’m looking for her. She’s disappeared.’

‘When?’ asked Clark.

‘A few months ago.’

‘Well, I can’t help you there. I haven’t seen her for years.’

‘But you remember her.’

‘Well, yeah, I should say so, considering how she treated me.’

‘How she treated you? How dare you blame her? She only left you because of what that despicable man did.’

‘Despicable man?’

‘Luthor. Lex Luthor. He told you lies about her, and broke up your relationship, and….’

‘Oh, God! You’re kidding, right?’

*********

Far out on the ocean, a great wall of fog was building. The weather reports said it was going to make landfall in a few hours. By then, Lex hoped to be safely wrapped in Clark’s warm arms. That was his set goal, and he was going to achieve it the way he achieved most of his goals. He was going to reconstruct Clark the way he reconstructed the companies he took over. When a company was failing because of poor management, Lex bought it out, and restored it. He kept the good employees who were worried about losing their jobs, and got rid of those who had been riding along on the backs of the hard workers. He gave the employees good raises after a year of proving their worth. He made sure that everyone had the education and training they needed to upgrade their skills. All this cost him some money at first, but so far, he’d been repaid handsomely when his employees knew who he was and that he expected them to give back 100%.

Clark would learn who he was, if he didn’t know already. Clark would make up for every pain he’d given him and….

A car was stopped by the side of the road, its hood popped, steam rising. A young woman, muffled in a hooded coat, stood beside it, peering inside. Even from here she looked mystified and helpless. Lex controlled his irritation with helpless females. It wasn’t their fault, he reminded himself, it was the way they were raised. He pulled up behind her car, and climbed out of his own. 

‘Do you need help, Miss? Or is everything under control/’

‘Oh,’ she said. ‘I think I have everything under control now.’ She lowered her hood.

‘Lucy Lane,’ said Lex. 

‘In the very person,’ she said.

Lex turned to get back into his car, warned by the feeling of prickling at his back. That was what saved him. The arrow only hit his shoulder. It was enough to disable him, though, as the poison flooded his system.

‘Idiot!’ screamed Lucy. ‘I didn’t want him dead. You’re lucky.’

‘Whatever,’ the archer drawled. 

Lex lay on the road and looked up into a face he hadn’t seen for many years. ‘Oliver Queen.’

‘In the very person,’ Queen replied. ‘I go by the name Green Arrow now, though. I’m a hero.’

‘Sure you are,’ said Lex. And then he passed out.

******

‘So you’re telling me that you never had a relationship with my sister?’

‘A relationship? We had no kind of relationship, not even friendship. We met casually my first year at UVic, then she decided to try and save me from being gay. She went too far in that, and… What did she tell you, exactly?’

‘Why should I tell you anything?’

‘Why should I tell you? Nyah, nyah. Are we little kids in the schoolyard? You want to find your sister. You came after me to find her. Why? I haven’t seen her in years and I don’t want to. What did she tell you about me? Maybe there’s a clue in that.’

Lois got to her feet, and prowled restlessly around the room. It was a luxury suite, which Clark had been hoping to bring Lex back to after their little talk. Seeing Lucy Lane’s sister here was like a punch in the gut. Lois didn’t seem like Lucy’s type, but who knew. Clark stayed near the door, in case Lois decided to scream after all.

‘Lucy told me she met you at the University in Victoria.’

‘Well, she did, but barely. It was at the party for first year students. ‘

‘Freshmen?’

‘We don’t call them that here in Canada, but yes…. Sorry. Go on.’

‘Thanks so much. Anyway, Lucy told me you met and fell in love and were going to get married. Then Luthor interfered. He got jealous because he had some sick idea you were in love with him. He threatened her. Threatened to rape her, or have her raped or something. She wasn’t clear about that last part, but it sounded horrible. And so she got scared and ran off. She was all upset when she came home.’

‘Was she?’ Clark was silent for a long moment. ‘I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a more appalling pack of lies.’

‘Don’t say that about my sister.’

‘I’m sorry, but you came after me for answers, and these are the answers I have for you. It’s too bad you don’t like them. ‘

‘So what’s your version of the story?’

‘You really want to know? Okay. I’v e been Lex Luthor’s lover for years. It’s no big secret. If you googled me, you’d know that.’ 

‘I did, but Lucy said….’

‘A pack of lies. When I made it clear that I was gay, and wanted nothing to do with her, not like that anyway, she got angry and started harassing me sexually….What’s funny? You think that’s amusing?’

‘I’m sorry, it’s just so funny. The idea of my baby sister….’

‘Throwing herself at a man who doesn’t want her, and trying to blackmail him into bed? That’s the kind of thing that amuses you? You and your sister make a nice pair.’

‘So, what happened after that?’

‘After the blackmail attempt? Lex told her to get lost.’

‘Lex did?’

‘Yes, because she wouldn’t listen to me, and as Lex pointed out, if I tried to talk to her again, she’d just see it as proof I really wanted her. So he made sure she left town. All of which, your sister twisted into her own version to make herself look like the victim. Heard enough?’

‘Why should I believe you?’

‘Why should I lie?’

‘I… I don’t know. Why should my sister lie?’

‘To get your sympathy? To justify her actions? I have no idea. She’s your sister.’

Lois stared out the window at the darkening sky. It was getting really late. What if Lex had come to the restaurant while Clark was here in this room with Lucy Lane’s fricking sister? God, this was getting worse and worse.

‘Look, if you don’t have any more questions, I need to….’

‘Lucy has made up stories before,’ said Lois, as if he hadn’t spoken. ‘I thought her story was strange, but she swore it was true, and she’s my sister.’

‘And you care about her. Of course. I understand that, and I only told you the truth because you put me on the spot. I wanted to forget it ever happened. I had forgotten, until you brought it all back to me.`

`Lucy hadn`t forgotten,` said Lois. `She never forgot. She told me she was going after Luthor.`

`What!`

`She said you`d split up.`

`Not really. Only briefly. Personal reasons. We`re getting back together.`

`She said she was going to get revenge on Lex and then get back together with you.`

Clark listened with a growing horror. `Okay, this is enough,` he said. `You`re coming with me,  
while we sort this out.`

`Hey!` said Lois. `Put me down.`

*******

The darkness was perfect, and it stretched on for infinity, this he knew. The darkness pressed on him from every side like the walls of a prison. The darkness was cold and palpable, and froze him to the depths of his soul. But far off, miles off, millions of miles off, a tiny pinprick of light shone, like a star, giving his soul a beacon of hope.

He remembered once, many years ago, making his way through a darkened chamber, buried under deep water. But then he had been alive, and he`d had his BlackBerry, with its tiny but very useful light. The tiny star that led him on now was quite possibly of no use at all. It was the only thing, though, in a universe of darkness. Otherwise, he was lost forever.

‘Not lost,’ said the tiny star. ‘We have more power than we know, and than they know.’

Lex closed his eyes, but the star continued to shine.

‘I’m not a star, I’m part of you.’

‘My Inner Light?’ Lex sneered.

‘Oh, ye of little faith.’

‘Just what I need. An Inner Light that sneers at me.’

‘Do you remember the glove? And the crystals? The day I died?’

‘Lex. The other Lex, from the alternate universe.’

‘I died as a separate entity that day, but when you put on the glove, my DNA joined with yours. I’ve been growing inside you all this time.’

‘To my horror, I believe you.’

‘Good. What this means is, you…we are not like other people. We are two in one. ‘

‘I have a doppelganger, like Clark? Wonderful.’

‘Not a doppelganger. We are two in one, joined inextricably. I am not your evil twin. I am you. We have the strength of two, the intelligence of two, the power of two.’

‘Why am I thinking of a chewing gum commercial?’

‘Funny. Ask me another question more relevant to our situation.’

‘Why am I just learning about all this now?’

‘Because you died.’

‘What!’

‘Please don’t shout. You died of the poison Oliver Queen shot you full of. If he’d shot you in the back, your death would have been too quick even for me to deal with, but the poison was slow enough that I had time to awaken. ‘

‘I moved, that’s why he missed my back. I had a warning. That was you?’

‘Clever boy! I’ve been keeping your mind alive, and your heart beating just enough. You’re in a kind of coma, and they think you’re dead. Listen!’

‘You killed him. You really, really killed him. The antidote isn’t working.’ That was Lucy Lane. Clearly she wasn’t happy I was dead. Though, why did she care?

‘Why do you care?’ That was Ollie. Good old Ollie. So full of compassion. 

‘He’s mine. He was supposed to be mine. You had your turn. Shooting those business men.’

‘They deserved it. So did Luthor.’

‘Yes, but Luthor was mine. I was going to kill him slowly, like he deserves, for what he did to me. Coming between me and Clark.’

‘Clark would never have given you a second look.’

‘Shut up!’ Lucy screamed. 

Aha! Thought Lex. Division in the ranks. An opportunity presents itself. 

‘An opportunity for what?’ his Other self enquired.

‘For some kind of action. They’re distracted. They think I’m dead.’

‘You are dead,’ his Otherself pitilessly noted.

‘No. My mind is intact, and my heart is still beating, albeit slowly. While they’re distracted, you should speed up my heartbeat. Carefully, now. I’m going to come up with a plan.’

‘Good luck,’ said his Otherself, who was becoming annoying fast.

This is my Trial, Lex told himself. Himself, not his Otherself. This is my Trial, and I have developed Shaman powers over the last few years. Merely, I have not practiced them, or used them to help myself. Why not? Perhaps I feared them, feared becoming powerful and thence evil. All those lectures all those years about my inner capacity for evil. The fear in people’s eyes sometimes when I pulled back the curtain just a little. But, no more. Now I must rip the curtain away. 

‘How do you intend to do that?’ asked his Other.

‘Just watch me. You need to keep bumping my heart rate, a bit at a time. And keep monitoring that pair. Are they still fighting?’

‘Oh, yes. They’re calling each other elaborate names.’

‘They’re made for each other. Keep an eye on them, in case they notice I’m starting to come around.’

‘Yes sir, Mr. Luthor, sir. What are you going to be doing while I’m raising the dead and guarding you from this murdering scum?’

‘I’m going to do a bit of astral projection. There’s a fog bank, heading for the coast. I’m going to draw it to us. Where are we, do you know?’

‘In an old abandoned building, not far from your car. I remember them dragging you here. Ollie wanted to leave you in your car. Lucy wanted to revive you.’

‘And torture me. Noted. Okay, I’m going to isolate my mind, and focus on the projecting myself outward to the fog.’

‘You’ve done this before, right?’

‘Shut up!’ he explained.

*******

‘Are you Superman?’ Lois shouted, as Clark carried her down the highway toward Gander. 

‘What would give you that idea?’ This was the road Lex would have driven down, he was sure. The other roads were side streets, and Lex hated side streets.

‘You can fly.’

‘Lots of people can fly.’

‘Name one.’

‘Batman.’ Batman couldn’t really fly. He used ropes and so on, but Clark didn’t want to spoil his mystique with truth and logic.

‘You know Batman? What’s he really like? Can you get me an interview?’

‘Maybe,’ Clark allowed. ‘Are you a reporter, or something?’

‘I do a bit of blogging,’ said Lois Lane. ‘I’d like to break a big story and make a name for myself.’

Clark didn’t answer. Just ahead, there was a huge bank of fog moving inland, and something about the way it moved seemed unnatural. 

‘Something weird about that fog,’ noted Lois.

‘Hey, you might make a good investigative blogger after all,’ said Clark.

‘Thanks,’ Lois replied, with heavy irony.

Clark ignored the irony in favour of the fog bank. The fog was spinning, circling, gathering around one specific spot in a valley below. But that wasn’t the weirdest thing about it. The weirdest thing was that Clark couldn’t see into the fog.

Years ago, he’d had trouble using more than one power at a time – but that was years ago. Just to be on the safe side, though, he decided to land and concentrate on his X-ray vision.

‘What’s with that fog, anyway?’ asked Lois, as he set her down safely on the hill.

‘I don’t know,’ Clark admitted. ‘I can’t see into it, or through it.’

‘I guess you’re not Superman, then. He can see through anything.’

‘Not if it’s magical, or….’ Green K? Clark didn’t mention that possibility. He was still trying to maintain the impression that he was a human mutant whose powers were caused by Kryptonite, not an alien whose powers were adversely affected by it. But he didn`t think this fog was caused by Kryptonite. That much Kryptonite he would have felt the presence of long ago, he thought. Nor did he think fog could be made of lead. Magic, on the other hand… but whose magic?  
‘Why don’t we go down there and see what’s going on?’ suggested Lois.

‘I don’t know….’

‘Come on. You’re Superman, and invulnerable, and you can fly.’

‘I thought I wasn’t Superman,’ said Clark.

‘Make up your mind.’

‘Good idea,’ said Clark.

He started down the hill, on foot, in order to be slow and careful, and to concentrate all his powers on his X-ray vision. And then, out of the bush came a huge wolf… no, not a wolf, a Dire Wolf.

And then the Dire Wolf began to transform, into a naked man.

‘Mannick!’

‘In the flesh’ said the Amorak. He raised a hand in warning. ‘Do not go down into the valley. Your mate has it all in hand. You must not interfere, for this is his Trial and he must win out by himself, or fail forever.’

********

Deep in the fog, Lex opened his Other Eye, which saw clearly. Whatever bonds his enemies had laid upon him fell away like spider webs. His pain did not cease, but became irrelevant, except as a spur to fight for his freedom. He rose to his feet, and began to fight.

********

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***TBC**


End file.
